The story of John Thompson III at Georgetown was a play in three acts: a rapid rise that few could have expected, a plateau, and a rapid fall that few could have predicted.

The first born son of John and Gwen Thompson, John III pursued a path outside of his father's presence at Georgetown. Following his play at Gonzaga College HS, Thompson III went to Princeton, where he captained the Tigers under coach Pete Carril, graduating in 1988. He returned to Old Nassau in 1995, serving five years as an assistant under Carril before succeeding him in 2000. In four years, Thompson led the Tigers to three Ivy League titles and two NCAA invitations.

Were his name not John Thompson, the 38 year old coach would have still been an intriguing choice for the Georgetown coaching position after Craig Esherick. Where his father could be loud and gruff, the son was quiet and cerebral. An opportunity to revive the Georgetown program and the ability to maintain familial ties with its glory years was a powerful combination in announcing his hire in 2004.

"We believe that Thompson III, by utilizing the tools he currently possesses, will be able to rebuild school spirit, broaden the base of support for the program, and build team morale," wrote The HOYA in 2004. "It will, however, take time for Thompson III to craft his team into a consistently winning and well-performing team."

Few could have imagined it happening so soon. From Thompson's opening season in 2005, which resulted in an NIT berth, the Hoyas rocketed skyward. A 2006 upset of #1 Duke led the Hoyas en route to the 2006 NCAA regionals, where they fell in the final moments to eventual national champion Florida. A year later, the Hoyas won 30 games and its first Big East tournament title since 1989. Powered by emotional wins over Vanderbilt and North Carolina, the Hoyas reached the Final Four for the first time in 22 years, falling to Ohio State. Thompson was named Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

The 2007-08 team may have been one of Georgetown's all-time best, winning the regular season title and entering the NCAA's with a #2 seed and a 27-5 record. A second round game versus #10 seed Davidson proved a turning point in Thompson's tenure: the Hoyas lost a 16 point second half lead behind 36 points from Stephen Curry, knocking the Hoyas out of the tournament. The graduation of Thompson's first class: Jonathan Wallace, Roy Hibbert, Tyler Crawford, and inbound transfer Patrick Ewing, Jr., marked the end of a remarkable four years at GU and a turning point in Thompson III's tenure.

Georgetown returned to a period of normalcy from 2009 through 2013. The Hoyas were regular players in the national discussion, and were in the Associated Press Top 25 poll for 79 of 95 weeks between 2008 and 2013, with Top 10 appearances over five consecutive seasons. The 2009-10 season saw two highlights with a week, as the Hoyas shot 71 percent from the field in a win over #8 Duke, then followed it up a week later with a 103-90 win over #2 Villanova, where 10,387 fans walked or sledded through a 22" snowfall for one of Thompson's greatest wins, with 21 assists on its 27 field goals on the afternoon.

In its third Big East final in four years, its most since 1988-92, Georgetown fell in the final seconds to West Virginia. But a sudden loss could not prepare the Hoyas for a stunning defeat in the first round of the NCAA's to 14th seeded Ohio, 97-83, a game that players admitted in hindsight that Thompson seemed unprepared for.

"If your question is are we going to change our system? The answer to that is, no," Thompson said after the game. "If the question is are we going to adjust and tweak the group we have in the locker room next year just like we did this year, yes."

And yet, a year later, it happened again. Facing #11 seed Virginia Commonwealth, the Hoyas' starting lineup was a combined 0 for 16 from three point range in an 18 point blowout loss, 74-56. "I don't think guys were tired, I don't know what it was," said junior Jason Clark.

The 2012-13 should have been different. Ranked as high as #5 in the nation, the Hoyas won 14 of 15 en route to a dominating Big East regular season championship. Earning a #2 seed, Thompson's team was clearly underprepared for its opponents, as the little known Florida Gulf Coast University embarrassed the Hoyas in a 78-68 upset, only the seventh time in NCAA tournament history that a #2 seed had lost its opening game.

A sports media that had been uniformly supportive of Thompson were unsparing in its criticism.

"No fan base has endured more heartbreak and embarrassment than this one," said Matt Norlander at CBS Sports.com. "A John Thompson III-coached team losing in the Round of 64 to a mid-major has become a near-annual tradition," wrote Stewart Mandel at Sports Illustrated.

"Georgetown faces a decision," wrote Pat Forde at Yahoo Sports. "Does consistent regular-season success - we're talking seven 20-win seasons in the past eight years - matter enough to overlook continual failings at tournament time?"

The University showed its support with a six year extension and a sizable salary increase that led Thompson to be among the ten highest paid coaches in the nation. In response, Thompson told the Washington Post "We will get this figured out. We'll make the changes we need to make. And we will hang another big banner on the wall at McDonough Arena. We will."

The next four years were a decidedly downward slide with one NCAA bid that only briefly assuaged an increasingly disconnected fan base, as attendance and national interest dwindled. The 2015-16 Hoyas dropped 10 of its final 12 to finish 15-18, Georgetown's worst record since 1972. Picked second in the 2016-17 pre-season Big East poll, the season collapsed almost from the start. Following back to back losses, fans openly called for Thompson to be fired, with chants audibly heard on the TV broadcast against Arkansas State. The public address announcements at Verizon Center stopped mentioning Thompson in the pre-game starting lineups to avoid any embarrassing fan responses.

Following a trend seen in Craig Esherick's final years, transfers and attrition led to a lack of talent in key positions and poor showings late in games, as GU was 12-24 (.333) in Big East play from 2015 through 2017. The 2016-17 team lost its final six games and Thompson's standing was further damaged by the decision of high school prospect Tremont Waters to decommit from Georgetown after the Hoyas were eliminated in the opening round of the Big East tournament.

The promise of back to back losing seasons ignited a firestorm of resentment, particularly among students and younger alumni who had no memory of the remarkable team play displayed in Thompson's earliest years as coach.

"Everyone knows a change needs to be made. No one will dare stand up and say it," a former player told ESPN in 2017. Added another who chose not to be identified, there was "fear of Big John and where you stand. You don't mess with him."

Much like his predecessor, Thompson seemed unprepared for what followed.

"It is with profound regret and deep appreciation that I informed John Thompson III this morning that the University will no longer be retaining his services as our Head Men's Basketball Coach," said Georgetown President Jack DeGioia in a news release on March 23. A multi-million dollar payout awaited Thompson, with two years remaining on his contract.

John Thompson III never returned to coaching. After brief stints as a television analyst and an advisor for USA Basketball, he joined the Washington Wizards in 2019 in a back office role.

Year	Post-Season	Record	Pct.	Home	Away	B.E. Tourn	NCAA/NIT
2004-05	NIT	19-13	0.594	12-5	4-6	1-1	2-1
2005-06	NCAA	23-10	0.697	11-2	7-6	2-1	2-1
2006-07	NCAA (Final 4)	30-7	0.811	14-3	9-3	3-0	4-1
2007-08	NCAA	28-6	0.823	16-0	8-4	2-1	1-1
2008-09	NIT	16-15	0.516	11-5	5-8	0-1	0-1
2009-10	NCAA	23-11	0.676	12-4	8-5	3-1	0-1
2010-11	NCAA	21-11	0.656	10-4	11-5	0-1	0-1
2011-12	NCAA	24-9	0.727	15-1	7-6	1-1	1-1
2012-13	NCAA	25-7	0.781	16-1	8-4	1-1	0-1
2013-14	NIT	18-15	0.545	13-3	4-10	0-1	1-1
2014-15	NCAA	22-11	0.667	13-3	7-6	1-1	1-1
2015-16		15-18	0.454	9-8	5-9	1-1
2016-17		14-18	0.437	9-7	5-10	0-1
Totals		278-151	0.653	163-46	88-82	15-12	12-11